The present invention relates to a manual noncontact card reader for use in, for example, an entry and exit management system.
Card readers are generally classified motor-driven types and manual types. The motor-driven type card reader draws the card into the inside automatically by a motor-driven transport mechanism so that card information can be read. The manual type card reader manipulates the card by hand so that card information can be read. Manual type card readers are further classified as swipe type card readers which read information as the card is fed in one direction by hand, and insertion type card readers which read information by manually inserting the card into an insertion slot and then withdrawing the card.
While systems such as entry-exit management systems to date have mainly employed manual type card readers that use magnetic cards, more recently, noncontact cards, which can read information without contact by simply holding the card in a prescribed location of a unit, have come to rapidly replace magnetic cards. Given these circumstances, it is inevitable that there should be increasing demand for a manual noncontact card reader capable of handling a noncontact card through an operation that feels similar to using a conventional magnetic card.
However, with manual noncontact card readers, unlike motor-driven types, the card is manipulated by hand, and thus in some instances the card will not be transported at a uniform speed, making it difficult to accurately read the data. Moreover, with swipe type units, since only part of the card passes through the card transport path, the opposed areas of the antenna on the reader side and the antenna on the card side are of small dimensions, creating the problem of poor transfer efficiency and inconsistent communication between the two.
In one insertion type noncontact card reader, detecting modules are provided for detecting that a noncontact card has been placed at a fixed position at which stable communication with the antenna can take place; and communication with the noncontact card is initiated if the detecting module has detected that the noncontact card at the fixed position, whereby noncontact communication can take place stably and reliably.
In one swipe type noncontact card reader, a guide for temporary stop is provided at the terminal end of the card transport path, and a card removal unit is provided to a side thereof. With the noncontact card having been conveyed manually into initial contact with the guide for temporary stop, the card will communicate with an antenna on the reader side. The transport direction of the card will then change sideways so that the card is removed from the card removal unit, so as to make stable communication possible.
Another example of a swipe noncontact card reader has a pair of antennas that are provided to either side of the card transport path. The width of the opening of the transport path is made slightly shorter than the length of the short side of the card, while the depth of the opening of the transport path is equal in length to or longer than the short side of the card, whereby as the card is being swiped the card will become adjacent to at least one of the pair of antennas at a given angle, making sufficient power supply and communication possible.
A noncontact card reader having antennas for card detection positioned to either side of a card insertion slot is known. With this card reader, the noncontact card will be detected in front of the card insertion slot by orienting the plane of the antenna perpendicular to the card insertion direction. With this card reader, interlinkage of magnetic flux at the front side with the card will not be weakened by magnetic flux to the back side by providing a magnetic body that constitutes a magnetic path for magnetic flux to the back side of the antenna. Consequently, a state of good communication can be maintained.
As discussed above, various designs are employed for the purpose of enabling stable communication between the noncontact card and the card reader. However, the technology for the insertion type card readers cannot be implemented in swipe type or other card reader that lacks a fixed position where stable communication with the antenna can take place.
In the one swipe type card readers, owing to the special construction employed for the purpose of changing the card transport direction at midpoint, it would not be possible to implement the design in a swipe card reader that has a fixed transport direction. In another swipe type card readers, while the transport direction is fixed, it is necessary to make the width of the opening of the transport path slightly shorter than the length of the short side of the card and to make the depth equal in length to or longer than the short side of the card. The limitations imposed by this particular structure pose an obstacle to implementation in swipe card readers generally.
The noncontact card reader is a motor-driven rather than a manual card reader, and thus does not have the problems characteristic to manual card readers such as those discussed above. In this noncontact card reader, the antennas disposed to either side of the card insertion slot constitute antennas for card detection for the purpose of opening a shutter. The antenna for reading information from the card is disposed at a separate location further along the transport path. However, in a manual card reader, if an antenna for reading the card were disposed further along the transport path in this way, since the speed of the card as it passes the antenna location will be faster than that at initial insertion, an antenna of large planar dimensions will be necessary for stable communication between the antenna and the card. Therefore, it will be difficult to install such a large antenna in the limited space of a compact card reader.